Day before the Tourney
:With only a day before the SnS Tournament, Minato's team has been rigorously pushing themselves to their limits in order to prepare for the fights ahead. Elsewhere, dealings between Seireitou and the Central 46 have been going underway to prepare for Mūkade's next move. The clock is ticking as destiny begins to unfold for our heroes. Preparation Among the charred remains of several trees in the forest-like area around him, Kōya was barely able to stand as he was panting, quite obviously after unleashing a display of strength. "That's nowhere near enough..." "Agh!!" he roared, as another burst of intense black flames erupted from his arm, crashing into the forest remains around him. Elsewhere... Itsuki sat in a meditative state, his eyes shut as small green weeds began to arise from the dirt near his body. Rūka was in another area of the forest of their location. "Hit the mark...!" he called out, firing several energy arrows from her Spirit Weapon, all but two hitting red bulls-eye marks painted onto the tree trunks. "Damn... Almost..." "You're making a lot of progress it seems, Rūka-san." spoke Minato, as he approached her. Rūka had looked over, exchanging a smile as she nodded. "Yes, but unfortunately not enough..." When she and Minato first met, she was far more crude and vindictive, but over time she had began to soften up toward the team members. Although, she still had a few tsundere-esque quirks about her. Minato sat down beside where she had then sat, as he let out a sigh. "Rūka-san, are you worried about the tournament tomorrow?" "Somewhat... I've never attended something like this, much less at some undisclosed location on the outskirts of the Rukongai." Rūka responded. Minato's eyes narrowed slightly to display his concern over the events that were to come. "Everybody has been working hard this past month, and I have too, but I just... I feel as though I won't make it. This was the first time I took to my training on my own without a mentor supervising me. Normally, it was Master Seireitou, and the last two years, it was Master Sorata. I just... worry that I didn't use this last month to properly prepare myself. What if, after all this time..." he continued. Rūka let out a sigh as she looked in his direction. "We still have something to protect, even now. People like us always are on journeys to seek strength. Sometimes we get slightly detoured on our journey, but, we mustn't stop." she began to explain. "Don't worry. Weak as you might believe yourself now to be, if you continue to walk forward... you'll certainly find the strength you need. Just keep walking." she finished. Minato rose his head slightly as a small smile began to form on his lips. "Thank you... Rūka-san." Arriving Day The day soon passed, as the sun arose on the day of the tournament. Minato and his team of four stood together as they checked to make sure they were prepared for the long trip ahead. "Remember everybody, once we get past Rukon District 59, things will start to get a bit less orderly, so watch yourselves." Itsuki advised. The team nodded, as Minato's eyes narrowed. But this time, they were doing so out of anticipation. He was ready to face down Nǚwā and whatever other enemies he was bound to come across. "Well then... let's go!" The team began their trek down the Rukongai forests, disappearing from sight... ~END~ *'Next:' Unexpected Preliminaries!